Bluford Webber, Crete Illinois Lutheran to play for Class 1A state baseball title

Friday

Jun 6, 2014 at 8:03 PM

BY JOURNAL STAR Staff

PEORIA — Bluford Webber rallied to tie with three runs in the seventh inning and Christian Bush singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th in a 5-4 victory over New Athens in the first Class 1A baseball state semifinal on Friday at Dozer Park.

“We got that run in the 10th and Jordan looked at me and told me he’s not coming out,” Webber coach Sam Root said. “His velocity was still 80-82 and he was still locating his pitches.”

Ryan Reuss pitched four innings in relief and took the loss for New Athens (19-18), which twice left the bases full and stranded 17 runners overall.

New Athens got a two-run single by Jim Kiefer in the third and scored twice more in the sixth on RBIs by Tyler Brandenbueger and Brandon Contratto.

Webber’s three-run seventh came on singles by Gage Raudenbush, Lane Moser and Bush and two errors by New Athens.

Crete Illinois Lutheran 1, Argenta-Oreana

Grant Farmer and Sam Geraci combined on a two-hitter and Crete Illinois Lutheran scored on Dylan Gould’s RBI double in the fifth inning in a 1-0 victory over Argenta-Oreana in the second Class 1A baseball state semifinal on Friday afternoon at Dozer Park.

Illinois Lutheran (26-2) will face Bluford Webber (23-7) for the smallest-class state championship at approximately 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

“With two good pitchers on the mound we anticipated a low-scoring game,” Lutheran coach Mark Kjenstad said. “No margin for error.”

Lutheran pinch-hitter Jacob Heyn drew a walk off A-O starter Gage Eller with one out in the fifth. Joey Kendrick re-entered to run and scored from first on Gould’s one-hop double off the left-field fence.

Farmer allowed two hits and three walks and struck out five in six innings. Geraci came on in the seventh and got two looking strikeouts and a groundout to send Lutheran to its first appearance in a state baseball title game.

Eller threw a one-hitter with eight strikeouts in the complete-game loss for Argenta-Oreana (23-6).

A-O and New Athens will play for third place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

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